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WILKES-BARRE - A plane carrying the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins back from a season-ending Game 7 loss to the St. John's Ice Caps landed an hour or two before dawn on a crisp May morning in Avoca.

Eric Tangradi, Brian Strait and Robert Bortuzzo were aboard.

As they loaded their cars and began to drive home, with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport growing smaller in their rear-view mirrors, they had to wonder if their days in the minor leagues were done.

All three had established themselves as standout AHL players. All three were about to be waiver eligible for the first time. When hockey started up in the fall, there was a very good chance they'd be in the NHL - whether they stuck in Pittsburgh or were claimed by or traded to another team.

Then the lockout hit, and Tangradi, Strait and Bortuzzo were right back where they started.

Thanks to AHL contracts they signed so they'd be eligible to play in the league during the lockout, they'll be in the Penguins' lineup when they open the regular season at Binghamton tonight.

Are they depressed about their current station in life?

Not really.

Even though they may have wondered if their minor league days were done, deep down, they knew there were no guarantees.

"That's pro hockey. You can never predict what's going to happen," Strait said. "That's what you sign up for, though. It's not as glamorous as people think, but it's what you sign up for."

Plus, even though they've accomplished plenty in their time with the Penguins, it's not like they're done developing their skills.

"They have to continue to get better as players," coach John Hynes said. "They're young pros. They have to be playing a style of game that will translate to the National Hockey League level and also be pretty dominant in their roles at this level."

Even if the lockout ends shortly and they graduate to the NHL on schedule, Tangradi, Strait and Bortuzzo have already cemented their legacies as three of the better players in team history.

Strait and Bortuzzo are in the top 10 in games played by defensemen. Having played together as defense partners since their rookie seasons in 2009-10, their names will forever be linked in the minds of Penguins fans.

"I think it's great," Strait said. "We grew up as pro hockey players together. I think that's a bond we'll always share. It's something we'll be able to look back on when it's all said and done and we're older and off doing other things, we'll have that friendship and that bond, knowing we went through all that stuff together."

Tangradi, meanwhile, is tied with Erik Christensen and Nick Johnson for 15th on the team's all-time goal-scoring list with 50 goals. If he scores four more, which seems incredibly likely, he'll move into the top 10.

He's come a long way since first stepping on Northeastern Pennsylvania ice as a 16-year-old at Wyoming Seminary in 2005.

"I almost feel like a hometown kid in a way, being from Philly and spending a year here before pro," Tangradi said. "I've had a lot of support here. It's been unbelievable. I'd like to be known as one of the best power forwards they've had here. That's something I've always wanted to thrive at, being a power forward.

"And I know Wilkes-Barre's eager for a Calder Cup. I'd love to be part of bringing that here for the first time, something that will be in history forever."

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